LanzaTech, a producer of low-carbon fuels and chemicals from waste gases, has partnered with the Centre for Advanced Bio-Energy (Centre), a joint venture between Indian Oil Corporation, Ltd. (IOC) and the Indian government’s Department for Biotechnology (DBT), to create a novel process for the direct production of low carbon fuels from industrial carbon dioxide emissions. LanzaTech and the Centre will leverage their expertise to create a new process for the direct conversion of waste CO2 into drop-in fuels through an acetates-to-lipids pathway.
LanzaTech has developed gas fermentation technology that can directly convert waste CO2 gases into acetates, and the Centre is working to increase the production yield of lipids (oils) by “feeding” acetates to microalgae. These oils can then be refined into fuels using a range of existing processing technologies.
“India has made it a national priority to balance its meteoric economic growth with environmental and social sustainability,” said Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech. “By converting India’s industrial waste CO2 emissions into low carbon fuels and chemicals, LanzaTech and the Centre can reduce overall emissions while creating a sustainable, domestic supply of transportation fuels. We look forward to extending our technology platform and our existing partnerships in India as we work with the team at the Centre on this initiative.”
Dr. R K Malhotra, Director, (R&D) of Indian Oil and Head of the DBT-IOC Centre said that “Any developments leading to useful conversion of carbon dioxide are most desirable,” and expressed hope that DBT-IOC Centre will come up with viable solutions in association with LanzaTech.
LanzaTech already has a working relationship with Indian Oil, India’s largest national oil company, to develop a domestic ethanol supply chain by leveraging LanzaTech’s technology with a range of carbon-containing waste streams widely available in India, including industrial carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from steel plants. The country is expected to become the world’s largest steel producer by 2015.